First-year Cincinnati coach Jamelle Elliott, right, is a former player and assistant for Connecticut's legendary coach Geno Auriemma. (AP Photo/BOB CHILD)
Story Created:
Feb 9, 2010 at 12:06 AM EDT
Story Updated:
Feb 9, 2010 at 12:06 AM EDT
No one can blame Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw if she gets a sense that Cincinnati’s style of play seems vaguely familiar.
Jamelle Elliott, in her first season as coach of the Bearcats, brings with her the imprint of the storied Connecticut program.
Elliott helped lead the Huskies to their first national crown as a player in 1995. Overall, she’s been a part of six national championships, including last season’s undefeated run. In 12 seasons as an assistant coach at UConn, she has helped the Huskies post a record of 402-36 (.918 winning percentage). She is credited with mentoring All-Americans Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams, Tina Charles, and Maya Moore.
Elliott knows the Irish well, and she’ll be applying all of the skills she learned at UConn to try and upset the No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish.
“I think she’s made a huge difference in the attitude that they’re playing with,” McGraw said about Elliott. “It’s a whole different team. She certainly has brought everything she learned at Connecticut, and I’m sure she’s still talking to Geno Auriemma. As a first-year coach, you always like to run things by someone. I’m sure he’s still a great mentor for her. She’s really changed the way they play and their attitude about the way they play. They’re playing hard and they’re playing together. They’re really working.”
Cincinnati is coming off of a come-from-behind 74-68 overtime victory against Louisville. Shareese Ulis scored 23 points in the Bearcats’ victory, and Kahla Roudebush was one rebound short of a triple-double (19 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists).
McGraw knows that Elliott will have the Bearcats focused and playing hard.
“I think every game is a concern,” McGraw said. “This is a road game. You’re coming up against a team that’s trying to prove something in the league. It’s a chance for them to get that signature win for a new coach. I’m sure they’re going to be fighting hard, as they do every game, but especially when you’re playing a team ranked No. 3 in the country and they have that target on their back.”
Senior captain Ashley Barlow has been a key reason the Irish have won 21-of-22 games this season.
“The weekend Ashley had against Syracuse and Rutgers, the huge shots, the big rebounds … she definitely has made a major, major impact in so many situations,” McGraw said. “There have been so many situations, so many games where I’ve felt like, we’ve got to get this rebound, or we need this shot, or we need a stop. She’s doing it at both ends.”
McGraw said that Barlow isn’t getting the credit she deserves nationally.
“Ashley is having a great year, and it’s a little under the radar,” McGraw said. “Lindsay Schrader’s having a great year, Skylar Diggins is having a great year, Melissa Lechlitner is playing well, the bench is playing well. Really, we have that kind of team where everybody is going to contribute a lot, and they’re not concerned about how much publicity they’re getting. They’re just happy we’re winning.”
Barlow has the rare distinction of being a game leader in four different categories for Notre Dame this season - points, rebounds, steals and assists.
“She might be as complete a player as we’ve had,” McGraw said of Barlow. “I don’t know that we’ve had anybody who can be the best defender, lock up the other team’s best player, and then make the big shots and be the second-leading rebounder, be able to get us 15 on any given night and do so many things, lead us in steals and assists. She’s a complete player.”
Diggins honored again
Diggins earned her fourth Big East Conference Freshman of the Week honor for her efforts against Rutgers and Pittsburgh. The only other Irish players to earn the award as many as four times are Alicia Ratay (six times in 1999-2000) and Jacqueline Batteast (six times in 2001-02).
Diggins averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game with a 7.00 assist/turnover ratio as Notre Dame defeated both Rutgers and Pittsburgh. The Fighting Irish rookie guard led the team in scoring in both games. She scored 14 points against Rutgers, and had a career high 23 against Pitt. She also set a career high in the Pitt game with 10 rebounds, and tied her career high with six assists.
Local Bearcat
Cincinnati’s roster includes Elese Daniel, a freshman from South Bend. Daniel, a 5-foot-11 forward, averages 0.5 points a game in limited action for the Bearcats. She averaged 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds a game last season for Clay High School. She was also a four-time state qualifier in track for the Colonials.
